Air quality in Székesfehérvár

What is the current level of air pollution in Székesfehérvár?

Székesfehérvár known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. Amongst other advantages, it acts as an important road and rail junction between Lake Balaton and Lake Velence. According to a census conducted in 2014, Székesfehérvár had an estimated population of approximately 97,500 people.

At the beginning of 2022, Székesfehérvár was going through a period of “Moderate” air quality with a US AQI reading of 53. This United States Air Quality Index number is an internationally used set of metrics supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is used to compare the air quality in different cities throughout the world using comparable standards. It is calculated by using the levels of the six most commonly found pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and both sizes of particulate matter, which are PM2.5 and PM10. If all six figures are not always available in which case, a level is calculated by using what data there is. In Székesfehérvár, four of the major pollutants were measured which were; PM2.5 - 13 µg/m³, PM10 - 14 µg/m³, ozone (O₃) - 35.3 µg/m³ and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) - 3 µg/m³.

This level of PM2.5 is only just over the recommended safe level of 10 µg/m³ as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as being an acceptable level. Although no amount of air pollution is considered to be safe.

When air pollution is classified as being “Moderate” the given advice would be to remain indoors as much as possible, closing doors and windows to prevent the ingress of more polluted air. Those who are more sensitive to poor quality air should avoid venturing outside until it improves. If this is unavoidable, then a good quality face mask should be worn at all times. All types of outdoor exercise should be avoided until the air quality improves. There is a downloadable app from AirVisual.com which is suitable for all operating systems and gives the latest information regarding air quality in real-time.

Does the level of air pollution vary much throughout the year in Székesfehérvár?

Air quality can be affected by many things, therefore it can and does change rapidly depending on the local conditions. Looking back at the 2020 figures published by IQAir.com, it can be seen that from May until the end of August, the air quality fell into the target figures as recommended by the WHO. To be included in this category, the readings need to be 10 µg/m³ or less. The month with the cleanest air was June with a reading of 6.1 µg/m³. The month of February saw “Good” air quality with a figure of 10.9 µg/m³, whilst the remaining seven months saw air quality from the “Moderate” category with figures between 12.1 and 35.4 µg/m³. The worst month was January with a reading of 28.9 µg/m³.

Records for air pollution were not held before 2020 when the annual average was noted to be 14.9 µg/m³. This lower figure was almost expected because it would have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as many vehicles were no longer in daily use because the offices were closed and the staff encouraged to work from home, in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus. Many factories and non-essential production units were also required to close which removed their emissions from the atmosphere, albeit on a temporary basis. Worldwide, cities reported a much better quality of air due to the general lack of traffic pollution in city centres due to the pandemic.

What is the main source of air pollution in Székesfehérvár?

The main sources of particulate matter are transport exhaust fumes, worn tyres and mixed fuels - whether wood or coal. Industrial emissions must also be taken into account, but cross-border dust pollution is also significant. Much of the dust is from Germany, but it can also come from other European countries.

It has been stated that the combustion products of wood or coal dried for several years can also increase the concentration of fly ash. If someone burns rubbish, including pallets, furniture boards, and painted window frames, even heavy metals and other substances that can cause long-term cancer can be released into the air.

Increased car traffic is placing a huge burden on the city: not only are traffic jams developing, but it is also not good for clean air. The city's economy is strong, as shown by the fact that most private individuals have a car here nationwide, and at that time we didn't even talk about the agglomeration: tens of thousands of people come to the city every day because they work here, bring their children to kindergarten, school or just come in to shop!

Can anything be done to improve air quality in Székesfehérvár?

For improvement to take place, the first step is to change the social approach. Emergency burning continues to worsen air quality, so the municipality has limited the possibility to do so twice a year for a few years. Next year, however, it completely bans it, meaning it doesn’t set an incineration period. In a modern big city, burning green waste is no longer acceptable. Composting or disposing of waste is a much more environmentally friendly method.

About twenty kilometres of cycle paths will be built next year, and another thirty kilometres in the years that follow. In addition, more than a thousand bicycle supports are already placed in the city. In the 21st century, it is not enough for people to get on a bus instead of a car.

What are the detrimental effects of breathing polluted air in Székesfehérvár?

Airborne dust is a mixture of solid and liquid particles floating in the air. It can be divided into two large groups based on particle size. Particles with a diameter of ten micrometres (PM10) are called coarse particles, and these particles enter the lower respiratory tract. Fine dust particles (PM2.5) with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres are particularly dangerous because they also reach the lungs and are difficult to excrete. They occur during solid combustion and during incomplete combustion of petrol and diesel engines. Irritating to conjunctiva and respiratory tract. Flying dust causes various respiratory diseases such as asthma and lung cancer. In the long run, it puts a strain on the functioning of the cardiovascular system.